Dear Palisade High Graduating Class of 2016,

It is almost time to walk down that aisle and receive that piece of paper that you have worked four long years for. I have already done the walk, threw the papers, searched for teachers on checkout day, decorated the hat and wore the gown and I want to say that is better on the other side. College is great and even if you are not going to run off to college right away, the freedom that you gain from moving out and leaving high school is incredible. However, I know at this particular time you are so ready to get out but part of you clings to high school because that's what you know best. And, it is okay to let go.

I have a few pieces of advice for your final days, the actual walk and the events that follow the walk. First of all, you all probably have senioritis right now which is bad because this attitude of "I'm over it," will follow you into your freshman year in college, so shake this feeling as much as possible. For the IB seniors who will be testing throughout the last part of May; don't give up now, you are almost there and when you are studying for hours, you will thank yourself later in college, I promise! Finish strong and it will all be worth it.

All of the different feelings that you experience up to and after graduation are normal, people try to deny these feelings but everyone goes through this. The feelings of being so done, that you are ready to run and never look back, paired with that you heart collapsing into your stomach will follow you till the end of summer. I will warn you that after graduation nothing will ever be the same again, especially if you leave Grand Junction. Once you leave you can't come back and expect the same exact thing, that is how disappointment and bitterness are created. Make the summer special, hang out with your friends as much as possible. However, you still have to be nice to your parents, they have raised you through eighteen or nineteen years of life, don't forget to spend time with them and don't have a nasty attitude. You will miss them when you leave or move out, even though you will never admit it, but you will always miss your parents.

Savor every moment of it, savor the graduation parties, the laughter, the feeling of relief. Savor the exchange of senior pictures, savor those last conversations with teachers, savor that last walk out of the hallway. That high school has shaped who you are as a person, and when you walk out of that school for the last time, you are stepping into a new part of your life. When you walk down that hallway after graduation it will feel like a strange dream, memories will flash before your eyes and your heart and mind will play through the four years that you have spent with friends, enemies, and it will show you, your old self. In the end, after graduation enjoy every minute of your life, remember what the baseball games smelled like, how your friends' laugh sounds at night, the feeling of the sprinkles on your feet and how your house smells throughout summer. You will miss your old life, but you are given a new one.

Through every tear-filled final hug at graduation remember that your old friends will be there but remember to make new ones because if you don't make new friends, you will be miserable. After the depressing yet exciting ceremony remember that it's okay to let go, high school is over but it's time to take on the real world.

Congratulations Palisade Bulldog Graduating Class of 2016, you made it and I couldn't be prouder of you.